The US junior team got a goal and an assist from BU's Keith Tkachuk and Maine's Mike Dunham stopped 47 shots to lead Team USA to a 3-2 win over Czechoslovakia in the final day of competition. That gave the US team the bronze medal - the highest finish ever for a US junior team! FINAL STANDINGS W-L-T Pts GF-GA 1 CIS 6-1-0 12 39-13 2 Sweden 5-1-1 11 41-24 3 USA 5-2-0 10 29-22 4 Finland 3-3-1 7 22-21 5 Czechoslovakia 3-4-0 6 28-25 6 Canada 2-3-2 6 21-30 7 Germany 1-6-0 2 15-40 8 Switzerland 1-6-0 2 19-40 Final day scores on Sat Jan 4: Sweden 6, Finland 4 USA 3, Czechoslovakia 2 Commonwealth of Independent States 7, Canada 2 Germany-Switzerland score unknown TEAM USA (OLYMPIC) NEWS From the Sun Jan 5 Boston Herald: -------------------------------- Team USA still hasn't been cut down to an Olympics-sized squad. But, through injuries and attrition, at least it no longer has a dozen or more players sitting out games, and has played better the past week or so. That situation existed through much of the US' pre-Olympic slate - hardly the best way to mold a young and defensively-suspect team into a cohesive unit. In stark contrast, Team Canada has frequently played two or three players short of the 23-man lineup. "There are two ways of looking at it," Canada coach Dave King said recently. "(A big roster) is a way of avoiding injuries. If that's what they (Team USA) have been trying to do, it's a good plan. "But the key is that you avoid fatigue at the end. So it's our philosophy to flog them now (in November, December and early January) and rest them later." The Winnipeg Jets assigned veteran defenseman Moe Mantha, captain of the US Nationals in 1990 [?] and 1985, to Team USA...The most juicy rumor vis-a-vis Team USA has a top NHL goalie (perhaps Rangers goalie John Vanbiesbrouck?) flying over to join the club when (and if) it reaches the Olympic medal round starting February 18... (end) --- Mike Machnik [log in to unmask] [log in to unmask]